Latest KFF Health News Stories
VA Agent Orange Debate Reveals Dueling Considerations Of Liability, Responsibility And Science
A group of scientists within the Department of Veterans Affairs warned the agency that agreeing to pay cash benefits to airmen who say they were exposed to Agent Orange could set a dangerous financial precedent. But that’s not supposed to matter.
After Initial Slow Response, Hospitals Are Beginning To Cut Down On Medical Errors: Study
Between 2010 and 2014, there were tens of thousands of fewer accidental deaths, which saved billions of dollars in related costs, it claims.
Federal Judge In Chicago Refuses FTC Request To Block Health System Merger
District Judge Jorge L. Alonso denied the government’s efforts to get a preliminary injunction to stop the merger of two Illinois health systems. The judge has not yet release his order, but some analysts suggest this could be a significant setback for authorities trying to protect consumers from the possibility of high-cost care.
Federal Health Experts Go To Capitol Hill To Outline Plans To Curb Antibiotic Overuse
In testimony before a House subcommittee, the officials called for programs to cut unnecessary prescriptions, efforts to pressure hospitals to do more monitoring of the drugs’ use and enhanced research to find new drugs. Also in the news, a look at Medicare’s draft proposal to let patients know they are under observation care and how Minnesota hospitals have had their Medicare reimbursements cut under new quality control programs.
Premiums Expected To Spike in 2017 As Insurers Settle In For Long Haul On ACA
Insurers mostly guessed wrong on how sick their new customers would be, and 2017 is being called a “market correction year” as they try to set themselves up for long-term sustainability.
Good News Coffee Drinkers: Cancer Risk Is Downgraded
While a research arm of the World Health Organization says there is not enough evidence to continue to classify coffee as a “possible carcinogen,” another group raises concerns about drinks, like the bitter herbal infusion mate, that are consumed at very hot temperatures. And the soda lobby’s efforts to fight new taxes on sugary beverages are failing in Philadelphia.
Colleges Offering Safe Space With ‘Sober Dorms’ As Opioid Epidemic Ravages Country
There was no way he was going to stay sober in the typical college environment, one student realized. That’s when he signed up for substance-free housing. In other news on the opioid crisis, a study finds that deaths extend beyond overdoses and the surgeon general urges more funding.
WHO Calls For Olympics To Go Forward, Says Risk Of Zika Spreading Is Low
The games, scheduled for August, will occur in Brazil’s winter when the concentration of mosquitos is low there, the World Health Organization says. At the same time, U.S. health authorities release a blueprint of how they would use rapid response teams to respond to a Zika infestation in this country.
AMA: Congress Must Lift Ban On Gun Violence Research
“With approximately 30,000 men, women and children dying each year at the barrel of a gun in elementary schools, movie theaters, workplaces, houses of worship and on live television, the United States faces a public health crisis of gun violence,” AMA President Dr. Steven Stack said in a statement.
‘The Patients Just Kept Coming’
The doctors who treated victims of the mass shooting in Orlando talk about their experiences.
Preparing Doctors For A Mass Shooting: ‘The Battlefield Has Been Brought To Our Communities’
Recognizing that mass shootings are something doctors face more frequently, the American College of Emergency Physicians assembled a task force to better improve response, using the military as a model. Meanwhile, the White House says there’s no plan to lift restrictions on blood donations from gay men, even as Democrats try to move on it.
Today’s early morning highlights from the major news organizations.
Viewpoints: Health Care’s Merger Climate; The CDC And Gun Violence Research
A selection of opinions on health care from around the country.
Outlets report on health news from Arizona, Minnesota, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Texas and New York.
Florida, Federal Government Owe Medicaid Managed Care Companies $433 Million
Eleven companies have been underpaid since 2014 because of a state error. Also, Medicaid news from Kansas and Tennessee.
UNOS To Implement New Technology To Make Organ Donation More Seamless
The United Network for Organ Sharing will roll out a new platform that will be used in the operating room to accurately label, package and track organs, as well as create a comprehensive data exchange interface. In other health IT news, though the ease of telemedicine might be tempting, a good old fashioned doctor’s visit is sometimes what’s actually needed.
One Researcher’s Battle With Schizophrenia
Brandon Chuang was working with patients who were diagnosed with schizophrenia when he suffered a psychotic break of his own. His path since has been strewn with dark days, but now he’s back in the lab and talking openly about his illness to help others. Meanwhile, a study finds that young Americans have a significantly weaker hand grip than those in 1985, dangerous chemicals are in public schools across the country and teens who vape are more likely to take up smoking.
Health Officials Revise Guidance Of Where Mosquitos That Could Carry Zika Are Found
The new map represents “the best knowledge of the current distribution of this mosquito based on collection records,” according to a federal scientist quoted by NPR. In other Zika news, the U.N. revokes an invitation to a Canadian professor to join a study group, a look at how cutbacks in women’s health programs could affect Zika prevention and advice on finding travelers’ insurance that might allow you to cancel a trip based on Zika threats.
In the 19 states that haven’t expanded Medicaid through the health law, poor patients aren’t getting the help they need. “The best way to get treatment if you’re addicted to drugs in Missouri is to get pregnant,” said Dr. Joe Parks, director of that state’s Medicaid program.
New Federal Rule Would Force Hospitals To Curb Overuse Of Antibiotics
The proposal is an effort to help stop the growth of drug-resistant germs. The rule also sets anti-discrimination policies for hospitals that include bans against discrimination based on sexual orientation.
